Season of the witch
by Aishanirocks
Summary: My own view of what happens in the story after season 1 - episode 13
1. Chapter 1

CHAPTER 1

She was never coming back. Petty hunger for power, which the Queen Pasiphae possessed, had taken her from him. He felt it, felt her pain and despair in the emptiness that had spread through his heart like a poisonous disease. He had failed her. He had failed to protect her though he'd done so much to protect many since he'd come to Atlantis. But as he watched the sun rise over the rooftops of the poorest parts of the city, painting the world in sharp beautiful colors as it was just another day, he realized he wouldn't be able to live in a world where she did not exist. For some reason he felt cold and it reminded him the chilly, gloomy winter days in London. The cold he felt was actually in the blood, in the bone. It could never be vanquished unless he does something to save her.

His love was sentenced to be executed by the nightfall today, and if he knew the evil Queen and her nephew one bit, they would want it to happen in front of all the citizens of Atlantis. Since the Queen now held the autocracy of the powers of judge, jury and executioner, it would be pointless to ask for a fair retrial. All he could do now was coming up with a cunning battle plan worthy of Athena which is capable of beating all the odds.

"Up already." Pythagoras' words yanked back to the ground. Not expecting a coherent answer from Jason today he opened the food cupboard and started digging into the pots searching for something to make for breakfast. After that embarrassingly awkward incident with Hecate, a very tasty piece of meat and furry nights stalking goats and pigs through vacant streets, he'd decide to leave cooking entirely to Pyth and Hercules.

"We are going to rescue her." Jason muttered even without realizing that he'd catch the bowl Pyth had tossed at him. Those amazing battle reflexes are becoming kind of a second nature to him.

"You mean _you_ are going to save her….." Hercules said walking into their shared flat's kitchen\ dining area\ living room, looking a little delirious around the edges. Well, not a surprise considering the amount of liqueur the man had poured down his throat last night. "And who are we talking about?"

It seemed he had completely given up on trying to save Medusa because saving poor damsels in distress was all he would talk about during last two months. Maybe it was his handover addled mind talking right now.

"He meant princess Ariadne you big idiot. You do remember her right, the very beautiful girl with long black hair and big brown eyes?" Pyth asked, his face quickly shifting into the mask of a school teacher teaching geometry to a week student.

Hercules presented them with one of his smug smiles and poured hot soup in to his clay bowl. "I just happen to know many beauties with black hair and brown eyes. wait…what do you mean we are going to rescue her, she's sentenced to a public execution. We can't crash into the place and save her in front of everyone. I for one am want to keep my head attached to my body until I find a cure for my Medusa."

"I'm not going to wait until the last moment to save her. Where do you think they'll keep her until it's time for the execution?" He asked Pyth, ignoring the comment Hercules muttered about the naivety of youth.

" Palace cells I guess. Now…. The palace of Atlantis has its own unique structure. If we are doing a prison break….." Pyth muttered almost to himself and started digging into his collection of parchments, rolling some open and off and tossing them over his shoulder all around the room.

Jason knew he'd found the right one the second it happened because Pythagoras made whistling sound through his mouth and started jumping up and down.

"There's an underground tunnel leading up to the palace from the Arena, it ends few levels below the palace cells. A long time ago they used it to store hungry lions so they could be used for both protection of the palace and fighting gladiators in the arena. They stopped using it after Poseidon became our patron god. I don't think anybody knows of its existence anymore."

He cleared a space on the small table and laid the parchment over it. Since Jason couldn't read ancient Greek, all he could do was stare blank facedly at what he assumed was a map of the palace.

For the first time since he heard the news of Ariadne being imprisoned and sentenced to be killed, he felt hope spreading through his body. He hoped with every vibe of his body that he'd be able to save her.

* * *

_Meanwhile at the palace of Atlantis,_

Pasiphae paced in her room, her long blue dress sweeping the ground with her movement. In the matter of few days she's going to be crowned Queen again, not just some lowly Queen consort to a king who held all the reins of power, but a Queen by the literal sense of the word. Highly addictive overwhelming feeling of Power surged through her veins. She could even taste it in her mouth. A long time ago, while crying her heart out over this same cold marble floor she'd made a promise to herself that she would become the most powerful person in this kingdom so that no one would be able to come close enough to cause her such heartache. She had begged her godly mistress to grant her with her wish for more power. At that moment it reminded her of another wish she'd made that day, the only wish Aphrodite hadn't been kind enough to grant her with yet and maybe never will. Her barely- there soul still wept for loss of that little bundle in her arms, she feeling of being link to a child as only a mother could.

She stopped pacing when someone knocked on the door.

"Come in." she ordered knowing who would dare come to her room at this late hour in the night. She had archived the ability to read her nephew's face like a open book, so she knew just looking at him what he'd come to say.

"My Queen, our spies have no information on the identity of the assassin. It's a mystery to them as much as it's to us."

Heptarian stated as he slowly walked into the Queen's chambers looking exhausted with dark circles under his eyes.

"I thought as much." Pasiphae muttered and went to stand beside the huge floor length windows.

"You disappoint me nephew, you handpicked those spies as well as my guards and yet, some assassin managed sneak into my room without anyone knowing about it. If I hadn't woken up the moment I did…" Heptarian's posture stiffened, his fingers stopped playing with the hilt of his sword. She was not blind. She knew her nephew didn't give a drachma about her safety.

If only her son was still alive…

Perhaps it was because she had been selfish. She had wanted to stay Queen and not stay married to a man who only came to her bed with hopes of ensuring the prevalence of his royal blood line. And when the opportunity presented itself, she had plotted against her husband the late king Aeson , afraid he would take it as he had taken so much else. Her whole plan backfired when he realized that he's been backed to a corner with nobody to help. The insolent bastard had flee the city with her newborn son in the middle of the night. That's why she got scared so much when someone broke into her room at night. She still had nightmares about waking up to see her son's empty cradle beside her bed.

He had taken everything that mattered from her that night. And she grieved, afraid it was her sin that took her babe from her. She had lied to head priestess of the temple of Aphrodite and lain with her sister's husband. She had given herself before the marriage was sanctified by her godly mistress. There was no warmth left her heart. No hope. No love. Gods had taken her baby from her. And so, it had created this heartless woman who's only reason for living is to gain more power.

"Increase the security detail of Ariadne's prison cell. If she's ready to go to the executioner than give us the name of the assassin he or she must mean something to her. Certainly enough to try to save her."


	2. Chapter 2

Hey guys,

I know my plot is has to be changed a bit after what happened in last episode. They rescue Ariadne differently so I'm going to skip the rescue mission part.

LOL I kind of knew Pasiphae was Jason's mother from the beginning of the series, I'm an oracle tooJ

O that word REGRET!

There have been nights and morns when we have sighed,

"Let us alone, Regret! We are content

To throw thee all our past, so thou wilt sleep

For aye." But it is patient, and it wakes;

It hath not learned to cry itself to sleep,

But plaineth on the bed that it is hard.

We did amiss when we did wish it gone

And over: sorrows humanize our race;

Tears are the showers that fertilize this world;

And memory of things precious keepeth warm

The heart that once did hold them.

JEAN INGELOW, "Regret"

Ατλαντίδα: Ατλαντίδα: Ατλαντίδα: Ατλαντίδα

"What o you mean he offered you a pouch of gold?" Pyth asked, watching distastefully, as the woman who owned the stall filled Hercules' flagon with red wine. Well, wine is far better choice than cheap ale which he usually drank and better smelling. Jason wondered what would happen if Hercules got a chance to visit a modern 21st century pub. Well he'll never venture far from the keg, that for sure.

"Jason, why are you laughing, did you even hear what I just said?" Pyth had his arms full of loaves of bread and an urn filled with olive oil. They were quickly running out of money he won by winning first three rounds of the Pankration, mostly due to Hercules' happy-go-lucky life style. Poor Pyth did all he could do to save his friend from being a bigger drunk than he already was, but to no avail.

"Jason!" Pythagoras hit his shoulder with a green olive to get his attention.

"Oh, for saving Ariadne…." His head was still hurting from the hit he'd received by that guard and added with the injuries he'd earned by fighting with Heptarian Jason knew he wouldn't be sleeping well for few nights. Ah, what he wouldn't give for a pill of morphine, or two. But physical pain was nothing compared to the internal bliss he was feeling after saving Ariadne's life. But after all he's done for the two of them he feared he may never get the chance to be with her again, now that the king knew about his feelings towards her.

"And you turned it down, you know what you are?" Hercules said in his usual sarcastic tone.

"You're an idiot. I don't why I bother with you." Recognizing the tone, he struggled to bank down on his irritation. But he knew it was his friend being his usual annoying self, nothing personal or otherwise.

"Course you like me, you admit it yesterday." Jason said hurrying through the street to catch up with him.

"A moment of weakness. Just be grateful for it."

" Great… what makes you think I like you?" Jason asked though he knew that arguing with Hercules about anything was useless, the man always had a counter comment at the tip of his tongue. He would have made a very rich and successful lawyer in the modern era.

"Everyone likes me- what's not to like." He said it like it the most obvious thing in the world.

"Oh the lying, the _stealing_," Pyth said the last part pointing his finger at the orange Hercules carried in his hand (when the hell did he steal it, he didn't even see), the drinking, the gambling."

"The fating." Jason added.

"Alright, apart from the lying, the stealing, the drinking, the gambling, the fating…_what's not to like."_

Jason and Pythagoras both stared at each others faces for a moment and started laughing.

"You see, you're finally starting to understand. This is why I'm a legend among my people. Did I tell you about the time l wrestle the _Nemean Lion? Hercules asked as they walked towards their shared flat through the busy street. _

_"Of course you have, a couple hundred times I guess." Pyth said putting his arm around Hercules shoulder. "But I think you should tell it again, it always do wonders for your ego." _

Ατλαντίδα: Ατλαντίδα: Ατλαντίδα: Ατλαντίδα

Pasiphae stepped back in to the shadows of the alleyway as pair of city guards walked pass her through the street. She didn't want to explain to anyone what she'd been doing in this area of the city wearing a long black cloak. She leaned on the dirty wall of the nearest building trying to steady her quickened heartbeat. The tears she had being fighting so hard to stop, slid freely down her cheeks. It was so hard being so close to him and yet not able to go near him. Even though it had caused her immense pain she had often wondered what her son would look like if gods had blessed him with life. Not even in her most wonderful dreams had she imagined him to look this perfect. How had not recognize him for what he was, the boy was the perfect male version of herself when she was that age. His flawless face and well muscled body looked like a sculpture worthy of Adonis's temple.

She realized that Aeson had told her the truth, her boy was touched by the gods just as she was.

She had to go back to the palace as soon as possible. All of her well laid traps and plans were in disarray after the events of past two days and with her nephew's death. With a heavy heart she was reminded yet again of his untimely dismiss. A searching party had carried his dead body back to the palace in the evening. Though she had wanted to give him a proper funeral filled with all the last rites worthy of a servant of Poseidon, she had to use his death for her advantage. She had the comfort of knowing that her nephew would have done the same in her situation. The most basic law of survival is to trust your own instincts. So Heptarian ended up taking the blame for the whole unfortunate ordeal. He'll go down in the history as another traitor who'd plot against the Atlantean King Milos and failed. She'll have to start from the scratch now that Milos is getting suspicious. She had a good motive to do it now. With Jason still well and alive, Milos, as Aeson's younger brother, was only a usurper sitting on her son's throne. As the queen mother she'll have more power than what she'd possibly get as Atlantis' next king's wife's stepmother. That is the reason why, she had been trying so hard to force her nephew marry her insolent stepdaughter. So that she wouldn't be discarded like an old pack mule after Ariadne becomes the queen.

Everything happens for good she decided, as she walked through the busy streets which smelled of salted meat and sweat, all she had to do now was turn Ariadne against her father and push her more toward Jason. So when Milos is walking among the dead she'd have no problem with turning towards Pasiphae for a shoulder to cry on.


End file.
